Code of Wrongduct

Argument's second Action Project is just around the bend, as we are going to correct our school's code of conduct in some way shape or form. The initial goal of this project is to add, remove, or change something from the code of conduct in a way we see fit. This unit itself reviewed the basics of each of the 3 branches of the government, with a hardy focus on the Dread Scott case. If you aren't familiarized with it, just know that the Dread Scott case was back in 1847-1857 as a slave attempted to fight for his freedom as he was a citizen, and had no owner. This case actually rose up to the Supreme Court, but initially, the court decided that Scott had no place stating this claim in the first place, for he was a black man who shouldn't have even gotten that far in the first place, or at least, that was the mentality. Going back to the Action Project, I will definitely say that it was quite challenging to think of a topic because I'm honestly fine with just about everything that the code of conduct states, to me it all seems quite fair. All in all, I was able to decide what I could revise from GCE Lab School's Code of Conduct, and just below, you can read all about it.

So initially, the Code of Conduct has a section labelled for levels of Disciplinary Action, and one of these 5 levels is contacting a parent. To be more specific, there's an early level that seems rather hasty for its early inclusion;
"How: Disciplinary Action Levels

The following summarizes the levels of disciplinary action which shall be enforced by the Disciplinary Council and appropriate school personnel with students who are in violation of the Code of Conduct. This hierarchy serves as a guideline for disciplinary action. Disciplinary action levels will be assessed on a case by case basis; this means that the spirit of the Code of Conduct is more important than the letter of it.

Level 1 ­ Verbal warning – School personnel that witness behavior will address the student verbally. Note: process of documents in Highrise student’s personal file (depending on severity and regularity of behavior). 

Level 2–Contact Parent/Guardian ­School personnel will contact parent/guardian when student is given more than 2 verbal warnings in a class period or a pattern of behaviour needs to be communicated to parents/guardians.

Level 3- Referral out of class to Co­Curricular Coordinator, School Counselor and/or Director to conduct a conference with the student. The Co­Curricular Coordinator, Director, and School Counselor determine that due to the frequency and/or severity of the behavior a Parent/Guardian will be contacted and one or more of these interventions will be used."*


*The list goes on, leading up to suspension and then expulsion

Now as GCE is a school that focuses a little more on student independence, mainly focusing on autonomy and accountability, it seems almost hypocritical to have just the second level be contacting a parent or guardian. Independence can not branch off when a student constantly has the attention of their parents at the wrong time. Of course communicating with parents or guardians is actually vital, but as stated up above, only after 2 verbal warnings is the idea of contacting the legal guardian now imminent. Assuming that the offense to the code of conduct is a large one, then of course it seem only natural, but minor offenses, or even missing assignments is usually followed by a short email to the parents. Now is when the 2 sides to this argument really shine out, because on one end, if you're struggling in class and require assistance but haven't reached out to anyone, this is a good way to notify some hopefully reliable people in order to help out the student in need. However, on the opposing side, many of these notifications can easily be misunderstood, and furthermore, be sent at a time just when the issue is about to be resolved.

Premises 1: GCE endorses an independent style of learning and prefers to have a display of autonomy, responsibility, and accountability.

P2: As students face level 2 of disciplinary actions, an almost hypocritical experience is had.

P3: The hierarchy of Disciplinary Actions may be necessary to determine what's appropriate for the student to be punished by.

P4: Students that misbehave are first addressed by staff, first casually, then more seriously, and the next level is legal guardian contact.

Conclusion: The transition from staff being involved to parent being involved is very unnoticeable, which I find unexpected since I'd assume working staff could easily account for a level 2.

The main point I want to get across is how easily or quickly contacting a parent is. It's almost as if it's simply jumped to as the first option, which doesn't align with the independence and autonomy that GCE encourages. My revision with the code would be a change in the levels of discipline. I would either add a sub level to break up Level 2 from one so it isn't as earlier, or better yet, switch around the current level 2 & 3 with each other. This keeps a more business styled environment that GCE is preparing their students for. The values of GCE revolve around gratitude, respect, autonomy, accountability, and responsibility. 3 of these 5 guiding traits –that act as pillars for the foundation of the school– revolve around being independent. Of course it is necessary to establish a system where the worse you act the higher th level of discipline, but to have what I believe is a much more severe level as only the second tier of punishment is rather extravagant. If anything, any and all staff interacts should be dealt with first, essentially changing the order in which it's dealt with.

Difficulty Curve, "gabahulk" (2016)

I've even asked for what my older brother thinks of the idea of parental contact so early, and his response, "Well, yeah, it's just too early. If you go from 0 to 100 in half a second, that's way too much of a spike. It has to be evenly distributed so there's no large gap to make an impossible leap over, or else that system would be too harsh, in my opinion. Plus, like... you said that your school wants the students to be more independent, right? That can't happen if parents are almost immediately contacted." Then proceeding to sign a small paper identifying that he agrees with the concept of changing the Code of Conduct, making a more appropriate ordered Disciplinary Action Level, after giving me that answer.

With that being said, I'll close this off with one final thought, I would even ask you what your preference of discipline is; allow some time for repair/learning from the mistake over time, or make things evidently clear with how there was some poor behavior the first time around?


¶ 1: Introducing the project and reviewing the course.
¶ 2: Giving context before the syllogism.
¶ 3: Premises and Conclusion analysis.
¶ 4: Initial argument based on my point of view.
¶ 5: Those who agree with my feelings on the subject.
C: A public question to identify preference.